Personally, I'm a little suspicious of an "investigation" that took three days to decide if the gentleman was strangled. For what it's worth, here's the latest:
BOB Woolmer was probably murdered by someone he knew, a senior Jamaican police officer said yesterday, amid speculation that the Pakistan cricket coach may have been preparing to blow the whistle on match- fixing in a book he was to write.
Yes, yes, the book, the book...but don't discount the radical Islamists and Allan's displeasure.
Deputy commissioner Mark Shields said there was no sign of forced entry into Mr Woolmer's hotel room and his possessions were undisturbed. He said it was "difficult to believe" that Mr Woolmer's killer or killers were strangers to him. He said: "It's imperative we keep an open mind, but I have to say at this stage it looks as if it may be somebody somehow linked to him, because clearly he let somebody into his hotel room and it may be that he knew who that person was."
The match-fixing connection may have dated back to Mr Woolmer's time in charge of South Africa. He was coach at the time that former captain Hansie Cronje, who died in a plane crash in 2002, accepted money from bookmakers to fix the results of one-day internationals, although there is no suggestion that Mr Woolmer was involved.
Police confirmed yesterday that Mr Woolmer, 58, who was found unconscious on Sunday morning, had been strangled. Mr Shields, who appeared beside the ICC chief executive, Malcolm Speed, said the Pakistan cricket party and other hotel guests had been interviewed and added that CCTV footage and other electronic records from the hotel were being scoured for clues. Mr Woolmer was found unconscious by staff at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, the day after Pakistan's surprise World Cup elimination by Ireland.
It is understood the coach was found in the bathroom and did not respond to attempts to revive him on the way to hospital. Police have said it is possible that more than one person was involved in the murder, as Mr Woolmer was a big man and it would have taken "significant force" to subdue him. However, there was no sign of a struggle in his hotel room and officers could only confirm he had been murdered after a post-mortem examination.
The Pakistan media spokesman, PJ Mir, said the team had not discussed the possibility that Mr Woolmer might have been murdered, or might be linked to match-fixing. But he revealed the coach had said a proof of his book had gone missing. Mr Mir revealed there was no question of the Pakistan team having been detained or prevented from leaving Jamaica. "We went through questioning by the police, which they have done to all the sides. The question never arose that the Pakistan team might be detained."
#6
Scotland Yard was called in after a slight delay and the Woolmer family living in South Africa have received death threats, their home cordoned off. They took DNA samples from the entire team, staying at another hotel. There was another murder at the Pegasus a couple of months ago, too, probably drug related, according to the the Jamaican on-line newspapers. To those not familiar with the Caribbean, all Jamaicans are considered criminal by other islanders, and usually responsible for most of the smuggling and violent crimes in the region. Besides this suspicious murder involving Pakistan, there have been many Chinese noted in the region lately. Two Chinese nationals were arrested for supplying pseudephedrine for meth in the huge drug/cash bust in Mexico City last week. Something to keep an eye on.
Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband provided a DNA sample Friday that he says he is "almost sure" will prove he is the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby. "Yes. It's true. I was the guy with the hat!"
Immediately after Frederic Von Anhalt gave his sample at the Identigene Lab his lawyer, Edward Lee, called on Smith's companion, Howard K. Stern, to do the same. Smith's lawyer, James Neavitt, did not immediately return a call for comment. "Nope. Too busy to return calls now. I already gave my sample."
"I'm almost sure the baby's mine, almost sure," Von Anhalt, 59, said after having a cotton swab brushed along the inside of his mouth. He added he hopes to gain custody as soon as possible and raise the 6-month-old girl, Dannielynn. "I mean, there's almost a half billion dollars attached. Who wouldn't love to raise the little darling?"
"Oh yeah, if it's my baby, it belongs in my home," Von Anhalt said. "I'm going to take good care of it. I will be a good father." "I'll be the best father money can buy!"
He acknowledged that his 90-year-old wife was angry after he announced last month that he could be Dannielynn's father, but added that she has since forgiven him. "A half billion dollars, you say, dahlink? In that case I forgive you!"
"If it's my daughter, it's my daughter and Zsa Zsa can't help but love her," said Von Anhalt, who uses the royal title prince, which he says was given to him by a German princess who adopted him.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/24/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
FOX NEWS this AM has shown alleged emails from Anna whereupon Anna threatens friend Ben wid DNA testing and demands for child support. Looks like Howie Stern has got a lot of litigation ahead of him.
HOWARD K. Stern has said he'll fight to keep Anna Nicole's daughter - even if DNA tests show she's not his. Mr Stern's lawyer today said he was complying with court-ordered DNA testing, but the result may not stop a drawn out legal fight. Mr Stern's lawyer James Neavitt told the Associated Press: "Howard is the legal father. If Mr Birkhead's DNA matches, then he can come and say he's the biological father, and then you'll have that court battle."
However he did indicate the two men might try to negotiate a settlement if Mr Birkhead was in fact Dannielynn's dad. "Dannielynn's moneyfortune interests are the most important, and Howard's been protecting her from the start," he said.
Mr Stern is listed as Dannielynn's father on her Bahamian birth certificate. The little girl is heir apparent to Smith's estate, which could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars if it wins a fight to inherit from Smith's late oil tycoon husband, J. Howard Marshall.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/24/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
bunny or boobie hatch?
Posted by: Captain America ||
03/24/2007 1:18 Comments ||
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#2
Stern is a moron. Current Bahaman case law founds parental claims on signed hospital statements as to parentage. It was that way in the US until the DNA revolution. There are 2 ways that DNA proof can be accepted in the island country. First, by legislation. Second, by judicial review of current legislation. Stern should be aware that some Bahaman appeals are taken to the Privy Council in the UK, where DNA results are respected. Now that both principal claimants in the Marshall estate litigation are dead, settlement of parentage is essential. And, the other survivors will be more likely to settle. Stern could get his hands on a lot of money if he is the father. And this is all about money.
#3
Yes. This should be explored by the media with all the resources they can spare. It's really important...
And did you hear Angelina Jolie just adopted a Vietnamese kid?
Posted by: Ex Astronaut Lisa Nowak ||
03/24/2007 10:21 Comments ||
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#4
I know I'm not Danneilynn's father - Anne Nicole is just NOT my type. But since we've taken on a two-year-old, I think we can handle a 6mo baby. We'll give her a great home, a loving family, brothers and sisters, and lots of love. I doubt any of the rest of the money-grubbers can offer as much.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/24/2007 22:17 Comments ||
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Muslim leaders called off plans to disrupt this weekend's World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, although security remained high in the Kenyan port city on Friday. Protests planned for Saturday had been included in a travel warning by the United States that said the athletics event, a source of national pride for the east African country, "may be the target of an unspecified terrorist attack."
The Muslim leaders said they had been treated "with contempt and utter disrespect" in talks with senior government officials who cared more about the race than the rights of Muslims, but had nonetheless decided to call off the demonstrations. "We have greater interest for our country at heart, rather than short-term gains or reactions to a government that is soon to face the test of the general elections," the National Muslim Leaders Forum said in a statement published in Friday's papers.
The city's mosques were quiet after Friday prayers, the time at which earlier protests in the city had started.
Kenyan security forces were taking no chances -- policemen were stationed roughly every kilometre on the roads into the city, and the government said it would put policemen in homes along the Mombasa golf course where the event will take place.
The U.S. travel warnings have been in force since 1998 and for a time contributed to a downturn in the nation's economic pillar of tourism, creating bitterness among many who believed Kenya was paying a price for Washington's policies.
Kenya's Muslims - most of whom live on the coast and are about 10 percent of the mainly Christian country's 35 million population -- have complained of abuse and discrimination at the hands of security forces during counter-terrorism operations. That was the case when at least 88 of them from 20 countries were deported by Kenya to Somalia as part of an operation to capture militant Islamists fleeing a new year's war in the neighbouring state, Kenyan watchdog Muslim Human Rights said in a statement on Friday.
A round of arrests of prostitutes and suspected criminals to clean up Mombasa before the race aggravated the simmering animosity between Muslims and the government, a close counter-terrorism partner of the United States.
U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger said the longstanding warning was not a criticism of Kenya, which he said had "mounted an extraordinary effort" to counter terrorism.
"It reflects the fact Kenya lives in a bad neighbourhood," he told a press conference this week.
Another American official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the planned protests "never would have prompted a warning on their own," but were included to differentiate them from the original threat of an attack picked up by U.S. intelligence.
Nonetheless, it appeared to have the opposite effect. "We feel it is against Muslims," waiter Said Mohammed, 52, told Reuters.
#2
You create a reputation, and you live with the consequences. The number of non-muslim terror events can be counted on one hand. The amount of seething, spittle-spewing, threats, temper-tantrums, and sheer unpleasantness by muslims have left a bitter taste in the mouths of the rest of the world. We don't like you, for good reason. Live with it.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/24/2007 22:20 Comments ||
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Up to 80 people have been killed and over 360 injured after a series of explosions at an arms depot in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. The blasts took place on Thursday evening, causing widespread panic in the city. Radio Mozambique said the explosions sent mortars and rockets crashing into the residential district of Malhazine. Ambulances and private cars carried the injured to hospital, many with missing or damaged limbs. Homes were destroyed and roofs blown off when explosives fired from the armoury landed on nearby houses which went up in flames, causing people to flee in panic.
Miguel Barreiro, a UN official in charge of the country's disarmament programme, said: "It's the biggest armoury in the country. It contains thousands of tonnes of weapons and ammunition." The government said the blasts could have been triggered by high temperatures of up to 38C on Thursday. Unice Mucaphe, the Red Cross programme director for Mozambique, said people were still being evacuated from the affected areas. "There are eight neighbourhoods where people live which are affected," she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/24/2007 00:00 ||
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"triggered by high temperatures of up to 38C"
It's because of Global Warming! It's George W. Bush's fault!!
Addressing senior army officers at a military school in the capital Harare today, Zimbabwe's Information Minister, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, said his country is relying on African countries for support and solidarity in a period when Zimbabwe has been subjected to strong international condemnations for continuously abusing the rights of its citizens.
Police in Zimbabwe recently launched a violent crackdown on opposition activists, resulting to deaths and severe injuries. Among those manhandled included the leader of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Morgan Tsvangirai, who was hospitalised as a result.
Threatened by the act, Zimbabwe's neighbours that have been defending it until now, also joined the international community to pile pressures on the government. Increasing violence an economic meltdown and a steady outflow of Zimbabwean refugees is increasingly threatening regional stability.
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Posted by: Fred ||
03/24/2007 00:00 ||
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...his country is relying on African countries for support and solidarity in a period when Zimbabwe has been subjected to strong international condemnation...
Meaning "Us thugs and kleptocrats gotta stick together".
Posted by: Bob ||
03/24/2007 12:33 Comments ||
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#3
"We Stole all we could find, now We're out of Money, GIMMIE"
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/24/2007 13:21 Comments ||
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Yeah, like Zambia gave bases to ZAPU, and Mocambique let Bob live in Maputo during the BS scene of the '70's. I scheme FOAD to whoever gives support to this crock o'shit, including non-African Countries/Corporations/Organisation/Banks
The head of Congo's army said in a nationally televised address Friday that security forces had regained control of the capital after two days of intense fighting against the militia of a former warlord who lost last year's presidential runoff. Lt. Gen. Sungilanga Kisempia said order had been restored in Kinshasa and that Jean-Pierre Bemba's army had fled, according to the broadcast on state-run RTNC television. He urged members of the militia to turn themselves in at the headquarters of the U.N. mission in Congo, saying that if they don't, "We will pursue them to the very end."
Bemba, who sought refuge inside the South African embassy, accused the government of starting the violence and said he had asked his men to stand down, but that he no longer commands them. "I am not in control," he told the British Broadcasting Corp. Congo's chief prosecutor has issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of high treason. "He has caused serious infractions by organizing a militia and by ordering looting ... his actions amount to high treason and we will pursue him wherever he is," Tsaimanga Mukenda said, adding he would ask parliament to strip Bemba of his immunity as a newly elected senator.
Sporadic gunfire could still be heard in the capital late Friday, but the intensity had significantly decreased from earlier in the day when mortar rounds sent buildings up in flames, including a nearby oil refinery. Hospital officials said at least 12 people were killed and as many as 47 wounded in two days of fighting between security forces and Bemba's personal guard, believed to number in the thousands. An Italian citizen was among the wounded, the Italian Foreign Ministry said. The ministry gave no details about the man, but the Italian news agency ANSA said he was struck by a bullet.
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Bottom news story of the day...
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on Thursday re-appointed his Cabinet, with all ministers including Oil Minister Ali Al Naimi keeping their posts despite speculation of major changes, Saudi media reported. "The Cabinet has been reformed with all current ministers continuing in their posts," said the royal decree, which set time periods for some other official appointments. Saudi rulers have set a pattern of announcing new Cabinets every four years at the onset of the third month of the Islamic calendar and a reshuffle was expected this week.
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A conference of Christian church leaders on the "threat" of Islam to New Zealand is being condemned as a "conference of bigots" by senior New Zealand Muslims.
The organiser of the Mosque and Miracles conferences, national director of Middle East Christian Outreach Murray Dillner, said the conference would address the threat posed by Islam to New Zealand society – a threat he likened to the terrorist attacks in the United States of September 11, 2001.
"It's an underlying threat, but it's like the twin towers – they imploded. Islam does the same thing to a society – it makes it implode," he said. Great analogy. US business would be crippled if facilities have to be built for quran thumpers. Texans would have to slow bleed cattle to meet halal standards. Television would be little more than recitations of the unholy quran, incitements to jihad and examples of jihai "heros." I'm with Zenster: head 'em off at the pass.
"The mindset of Islam is to take over the world. They will do that by any means they can.
"The church in England ignored Islam. If the church in New Zealand doesn't rise up, we will be in the same situation."
Federation of Islamic Associations president Javed Khan said it was a "conference of bigots".
"It's fearmongering; Islamophobia. The organisers are prejudiced, biased bigots," he said. "Islamophobia" attacks are an excuse to squelch criticism.
"For heaven's sake, we are less than 1 per cent of the population. Muslims have been in New Zealand for a century. No Muslim has ever done anything like what they are afraid of."
The conference, scheduled for the Spreydon Baptist Church on July 23 and 24, will feature three Australian speakers.
Pastor Stuart Robinson, the author of the book Mosques and Miracles, lived among Muslims in Southeast Asia and has spoken at conferences in Australia and South Africa.
One of the speakers at the Australian conferences, Pastor Daniel Scot, was tried under Australian religious vilification laws in 2004.
Dillner said another speaker on the New Zealand tour, Daniel Sheyesteh, knew the militant side of Islam from his early years as a trainer for Hezbollah and from his involvement in the Iranian Islamic revolution.
Sheyesteh fell foul of the Iranian authorities and escaped execution by fleeing to Turkey, where he converted to Christianity, Dillner said.
"He speaks out very clearly about what Islam really is. Muslims don't have the freedom to change religion. If you do, they'll do their best to eradicate you," Dillner said... Fair dinkum.<
#1
"For heaven's sake, we are less than 1 per cent of the population. Muslims have been in New Zealand for a century. No Muslim has ever done anything like what they are afraid of."
The point of critical mass at which Muslims begin to endanger a society might be somewhere around 5%, but why take chances?
Besides, in this age of personal jihad even one follower of the Cult of the Moon God might be too many.
#2
If they're smart, they'll make adherence to Islam prima facie grounds for refusing entry to the country and deportation of the ones already there. New Zealand already has enough problems; they don't need to add the muzzy one.
Posted by: Mac ||
03/24/2007 1:15 Comments ||
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#3
I'm with Zenster: head 'em off at the pass.
Thank you, Sneaze. Terrorism has to be "headed off", it must be pre-empted. It is not something that can be dealt with on a reactive basis. Much like chess, the winning player is usually the one who controls the game's overall tempo. The West's attempt to fight this battle on a bullet by bullet basis is simply ludicrous. Any sort of gradual approach simply does not attrit the population of combatants or their sources of finance and material support rapidly enough to have significant impact.
It makes no sense trying to win this war village by village when victory depends upon entire countries and their governments being deposed, overthrown or neutralized. Dr. John Lewis is absolutely correct in noting how Iran must top our list of priorities. It is the preeminent example of Islamic theocracy and a perpetual thorn in the entire region's side. Toppling Tehran's mullahs will serve a multitude of purposes.
a.) Make it unmistakably clear that Islamic theocracy will not be tolerated.
b.) Put a permanent halt to Iran's quest for nuclear weapons.
c.) Send the message that surrounding Sunni "allies" must begin immediate reform.
d.) End substantial interference with Iraq's emergence as a democratic nation.
e.) Reaffirm the American nation's institutional memory for betrayal and treachery.
f.) Attach a visible price tag to support or sponsorship of international terrorism.
g.) Demonstrate the punishment awaiting all who advocate genocide against Israel.
The list is nearly endless and can be satisfied by crushing Iran without any expensive rebuilding process. For once the riot act would be read out loud and clear in a manner that no one could ignore.
As to New Zealand Muslims charging bigotry, bias and Islamophobia: Never forget how it is the world's most intolerant religion that levels these charges of religious intolerance. Muslims must be made to confront how the very core of their religious doctrine exhorts them to violence and domination. Until that time, the West has no choice but to limit all contact with this vile ideology and thwart its influence at every turn.
#4
Zenster:
Pre-emption has been integral to US foreign policy since the President's "West Point" speech of May 2002. Unfortunately, Grover Norquist - a lobbyist for Muslim and Arab groups - convinced the President to export democracy into the Middle East. As an "Atlantic" magazine writer informs this month, that move only legitimated the Islamofascist movements. We didn't give Germans and Japanese freedom of choice to vote for fascist and militarist parties: we banned them. After 9-11, we created conditions for the Muslim Frankensteins that threaten our security. Although the public supported the democraticization process, the majority must be convinced that it made politicians out of al-Qaeda clones. Paleo polls have reported up to 75% support for suicide bombing against civilian targets. It would be suicidal to respect the democratic choices made by those savages. For a long time I have been saying that the President will move against Iran. He has the pretext and the means. If he choses to run out his presidency with the security issue deferred, then an ICBM threat to the US Homeland will have been delivered to the worst enemy that America has ever faced.
#5
If he choses to run out his presidency with the security issue deferred, then an ICBM threat to the US Homeland will have been delivered to the worst enemy that America has ever faced.
Which enemy would that be: A nuclear armed Iran or an appeasing democratic president?
(Sorry, you didn't deserve that.)
#10
ICBM disarmament is as bad as enemy ICBM armament.
Word, Sneaze. That was the gist of my post about China the other day.
Kalle, I don't have an answer for you. Tarbaby Iraq (hat tip to Hugh Fitzgerald), has become such a political third rail that the larger scope of global terrorism has been lost to tunnel vision over this puny short term goal.
This is why I have had to agree with Hugh and begin advocating withdrawal from Iraq. Leave behind a well-protected military presence to assist in operations against Iran, but withdraw the rest. Let the Sunnis and Shiites slaughter each other. Let them signal to the entire world just how murderous Islam's two major sects really are. World condemnation cannot get any worse if we are then blamed for an ensuing Iraqi civil war.
Regardless of global opinion, an Iraqi civil war will best serve American interests by sidelining jihadi manpower, absorbing terrorist financing and consuming logistical support. We cannot hope for more at this point until America's leadership sprouts a set grows a brain and reappraises the criticality of toppling Iran.
In an age where television's wasteland has become the chief arena for political campaigns, people like Thompson, Tancredo and Goode simply do not have the financial firepower or perceived charisma to fully sway the public's notoriously fickle opinion. Even worse is how comprehending the where and why any of the above individuals' positions requires actual mentative ability, something well beyond the average voter's ken.
The democratic candidates are irrelevant. Any prospect of their election cannot be redeemed as being even the lesser or greater of two evils. Their Politically Correct Multicultural platform has made them into nothing less than the enemy of America and its constitution.
As someone here at Rantburg so concisely put it, abortion is something that can be debated, while terrorism is not. The democrats seek to open debate over terrorism and thereby cement their political worthlessness.
#11
Let's see the New Zealand Muslims deny this Bali Bomber:
Abu Bakar Bashir said:
"They have to stop fighting Islam. That's impossible because it is sunnatullah [destiny, a law of nature], as Allah has said in the Koran. If they want to have peace, they have to accept to be governed by Islam." http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php?menuID=2&subID=46
#13
Charisma isn't as important as it used to be. Go Tancredo!
Fuck all! Sneaze, as a life long democratic voter who abandoned that party after liar Clinton's return attempt at the Oval Office, Tancredo would be a welcome relief. If he runs, I will probably have to vote for him. I apologize for being equivocal, but I have never voted republican in my life, yet am confronted with the dire necessity of doing so. Please understand.
A public broadcaster announced Friday details of weekly Islamic sermons in German for a Muslim audience, saying it will begin publishing them on the internet next month. Suedwestrundfunk (SWR), which provides TV and radio services in south-western Germany, said it had engaged Aiman Mazyek, general secretary of the German Council of Muslims, and Bekir Alboga of the Ditib Turkish Islamic Union of Religious Centres, as writers.
There were still vacancies for two Muslim women to write the "Word of Islam" addresses. The four would take turn and turn about writing personal reflections about behaviour or events from a Muslim perspective, the director-general of SWR, Peter Voss, said.
SWR is the first German broadcaster to issue weekly Islamic messages, similar to existing televised talks for Christians. The first SWR online address would appear April 20. It would be reviewed by theologians and editors before publication. A national public broadcaster, ZDF, aims to release a weekly Islamic message on the internet starting in the summer.
Both broadcasters say they will not put the messages on television yet, but only publish the texts online. They say they have an obligation to reflect the thinking of the 3.5 million Muslims living in Germany.
#6
By all means, I share your skepticism, but this is potentially a good thing. Germany's Muslims, mostly Turks, remain among the least radicalized in Europe. A common way they become radicalized, in Belgium, The Netherlands, and France, for example, is by young Salafists taking over mosques, driving out the ma and pa moderates, and preaching in "God's language," Arabic.
I don't think this has occurred in Germany to any significant extent -- yet -- but sermons in German, reviewed prior to publication, could assure moderates an outlet and give them an incentive to integrate. Such measures might have helped, maybe even a lot, if they'd been launched in France or Sweden ten years ago.
Most people do not feel the European Union represents ordinary people in their member states, according to a poll to mark the bloc's 50th anniversary celebrations this weekend. The survey - the first to canvass opinion across all 27 EU states - was commissioned by the Open Europe think-tank and spoke to 17,443 people.
It found 56 per cent agreed that "the European Union does not represent ordinary people in our country" - a figure that rose to 68 per cent in the UK. Forty-one per cent thought it should be stripped of powers (58 per cent in the UK) while 23 per cent (27 per cent in Britain) felt it should keep those it already had. Some 83 per cent of Britons said any move to increase those powers should be the subject of a referendum.
The survey came as the EU prepared to mark its birthday in Berlin with fireworks and the uplifting strains of Beethoven. But the celebrations cannot conceal uncertainty on whether to have a common constitution, doubts about admitting new countries, such as mostly Muslim Turkey, and concerns over Europe's ability to compete in the future with the United States and emerging Asia.
Europe has gone through a momentous transformation in the half-century since the leaders of six core countries gathered in Rome to announce a common market among nations that a few years before had been tearing each other apart in war. It is now possible to travel freely from Portugal to Estonia, in many cases without showing a passport. Not only former communist lands but western nations such as Spain and Ireland, which were relatively poor not long ago, have been remade.
The place for the main party could not be more evocative of how far Europeans have come together: the columned Brandenburg Gate, where the Berlin Wall once stood, a visible reminder of the end of the continent's Cold War divisions into East and West. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony will ring out at the gate, along with poetry and the sound of the veteran British singer Joe Cocker. Today, 27 presidents and prime ministers will gather for a concert by the Berlin Philharmonic with yet more Beethoven - the Fifth Symphony this time - and a banquet. A summit will follow tomorrow under Germany's six-month leadership of the EU.
#2
A constitution with a 21-page preamble, 3dc. That's extremely lame. I prefer the US version.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
03/24/2007 7:02 Comments ||
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#3
The US was about 1781-1789 or 8 years to a constitution..
To be fair, that was then. People then were focused, practical, moral, and wise. As a result they didn't take their system, country, prosperity, existance, or future for granted.
#6
Will the European Union of Socialist Republics last longer than the Soviet Union of Socialist Republics? they started 40 years later so they have more capital to burn, and they spend relatively less on defense. But given socialism, demographic trends, and Moslem invaders, how much longer do they have until implosion?
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Democrats are striving to stay united during debate on a $2.9 trillion budget outline for 2008 that has tested their fragile majority. Striving to stay united == Figure out a way to get what they want and still keep their jobs next time around.
Moderate Democrats favoring tax cuts have forced a rewrite of the plan, pushing through an amendment Wednesday that would pave the way to extend a variety of popular tax cuts that are to expire at the end of the decade. Worried about losing their overpaid positions? Well, I guess if morals fail, we can still control them by taking away their incomes and priveleges.
Across the Capitol, House Budget Committee Democrats held ranks in resisting a GOP-led drive to keep alive tax cuts enacted during President Bush's first term but scheduled to expire in 2010. The Democratic-led budget panel worked into the night and approved the budget after midnight on a 22-17 vote. Debate by the full House next week promised to be a sterner test. I hope so. Maybe logic will kick in by then.
Both House and Senate Democrats acknowledged that it was likely many of the tax cuts would be extended -- particularly those aimed at the middle class. Soak the evil rich, there's only a few of them!
In the Senate, the changes to the Democrats' $2.9 trillion budget outline would cover close to half the cost of extending the expiring tax cuts and were aimed at sealing support from moderates for the nonbinding but symbolically significant blueprint. Stop paying for illegal immigrants and pet projects and watch what happens.
The plan, however, also would erase a $132 billion surplus predicted to appear in five years. Quite a plan to buy votes you have there.
The Senate tax cut amendment, approved 97-1, won the support of every Republican. Democrat Russ Feingold of Wisconsin was the only senator voting against it. One with 'morals', I guess?
The vote came on a plan by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Montana, to devote $180 billion in 2011-12 to preserve tax cuts aimed at the middle class. That included relief for married couples, people with children and people inheriting large estates. Where have I heard these priorities before? Hmm.
After Baucus' plan passed, Democrats united to kill a bid by Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona, to extend further cuts on taxes on estates as well as cuts on capital gains and dividend income that Republicans credit for jump-starting the economy when the cuts were passed in 2003. Soak the old folks. Even after death. They don't know any better.
In any event, the Democratic-controlled Congress, like its GOP predecessors, is not expected this year to follow up with binding legislation that would extend the expiring tax cuts. They don't seem to be aware that many count inaction as a choice.
It is commonly assumed that lawmakers will re-examine the tax cuts after the 2008 presidential election, with the outcome depending on the balance of power in Washington and on the fiscal outlook at that time. More taxes bad, in either case. Learning to prioritize and live within your means and not microbudget everything is good.
Like the Senate measure, the companion House Democratic plan would award big spending increases to domestic programs, including homeland security, veterans' health care and aid to local schools. What? Take care of veterans? Decided they're important, have we? Since when did you guys start caring about what I care about?
It assumes Bush's tax cuts indeed disappear and, as a result, would produce a $153 billion surplus in five years through more money coming into the Treasury. More money coming in directly, and even more money leaving indirectly. But since when have US politicos ever looked beyond the end of their noses?
Republicans condemned the Democratic budget plan for its spending increases and its assumption that the lower taxes on income, married couples, inheritances and investments would expire. I guess that makes me a Republican.
"The best way to balance the budget is to control spending, not raise taxes," said the House committee's top Republican, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. Learned that in Home Economics 101, he did!
Despite much debate over taxes, the immediate effect of the House and Senate budget blueprints for next year is to award increases above inflation to domestic agencies for the portion of their budgets passed each year by Congress. Ahh! I was wondering what they were going to do with the extra money!
The Senate's plan would give nondefense programs an $18 billion increase, about 4 percent. The House measure proposes a $25 billion increase, almost 6 percent. Spend spend spend! I can't be overdrawn, I still have checks!
Even so, Democrats are eager to pass a budget, regarding it as an important test of their ability to govern. Republicans failed to pass a budget last year and action on critical spending bills stalled. Control freaks.
At the same time, the budget plans would cement promises by Democrats to require legislation cutting taxes or increasing spending on Medicare or a children's health insurance program to be "paid for" with new taxes or spending cuts elsewhere to avoid adding to the deficit. Spending cuts - Well, we knew that wouldn't happen. I wonder what that leaves.
#1
Frankly, I couldn't care less about the marriage and child credits. They don't help those who don't qualify.
Far more important are the taxes that will be raised: the top income rates, dividends, and capital gains. Those are what fueled the recovery from the Clinton recession and 9/11.
A couple weeks ago, several east Asians countries discussed doubling the CapGains tax. You saw the results in the markets. If the liberals have their way, ours would roughly double, too. You think that might be a cause for the market's recent problems?
#2
These past elections showed exactly what I had predicted as far as the cyclical nature of political parties in the US. That is, the democrat party is just in the opening stage of its recovery from hitting rock bottom.
This happens with the rise of the "moderate" democrats, who make alliances with the generally majority republicans for many years. By being on the winning side, the more "moderate" members of both parties hold sway for quite a long time.
Eventually, the republicans will then start to decline, along with a rising populism on the democrat side--them finally embracing issues that resonate with the public. But this is perhaps more than 20 or 30 years from now.
LAHORE: Dr Zulfiqar A Kazmi, Universal Peace Federation president, on Friday said that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism. Addressing a meeting of religious scholars, he said Islam was a religion of peace and there was a need to work for better understanding of Islam in the West. He said no religion had ever been linked to terrorism in Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka, Japan, Germany and many other countries. He said that he would convene an international convention on interfaith dialogue in Washington in August and religious leaders from various countries would participate in it.
This article starring:
ZULFIQAR A KAZMI
Universal Peace Federation
Universal Peace Federation
Posted by: Fred ||
03/24/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
WAFF.com >AP > STRATEGIC POLICY CONSULTING GROUP [Washington DC] > DISSIDENT - IRAN IS TRAINING + ARMING IRAQI GROUPS. Sniper Operations, IEDS, PYWAR, etal - you know, for Valentines Day.
#3
Islam doesn't need terrorism, it has jihad instead. Depending on the circumstances, jihad can be waged in uniform (ie the Six Day War) or out of uniform (7/7). But it's all jihad. Islam indeed has nothing to do with terrorism.
Posted by: Mac ||
03/24/2007 2:29 Comments ||
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#5
"Dr Zulfiqar A Kazmi, Universal Peace Federation president, on Friday said that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism," then his lips fell off, followed by everything else above his shoulders....
#18
" #10 Since no Muslim will ever admit that Mohammed acted like a terrorist they're opinions don't mean squat to me."
It wasn't enough that many others did not mention that b4 9/11 out of perhaps politeness. Now they're offended if you don't agree that he was the most perfect man! Sure way to achieve peace indeed!
Jeez, Al. Stuff like this almost makes me feel you're... fulla shit.
TORONTO - For Al Gore's presentation yesterday to a conference of human resources executives, his second Toronto visit in a month, the Oscar-winning envirogelical recycled just about everything from his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. I'll bet it snowed in Toronto yesterday...
From his opening line -- "I used to be the next president of the United States" -- through the Churchill quotes, the slick computer graphics and the boiling frog analogy, to his rousing finale, the presentation was a live action carbon copy of the film. ...then pick up the check, in the limo, "Manolo! To the Gulfstream!"
But there was one notable addition, an iconic photograph that was distributed worldwide last month by Canada's Environment Ministry, and for which the Canadian government is about to be sued by an Alaskan photographer. The photo, taken in summer, shows two polar bears on a melting ice floe in the Beaufort Sea, north of Barrow, Alaska."Their habitat is melting... beautiful animals, literally being forced off the planet," Mr. Gore said, with the photo on the screen behind him. "They're in trouble, got nowhere else to go." Audience members let out gasps of sympathy, but there could only have been a handful who had never seen it. Oh. Where's my tissues...
On Feb. 3, the day after the United Nations issued its major climate change report, the photo was published in hundreds of newspapers. It appeared on the front pages of The New York Times and Boston Globe, The Times and The Guardian in the U.K., the International Herald Tribune, and various others in Canada and around the world. Y'know? The usual suspects...
Since then, it has been reproduced countless times, usually credited to Dan Crosbie of the Canadian Ice Service."It's not our picture," said Denis Simard, a spokesman for Environment Canada, who was in Paris for the UN report's release and co-ordinated the photo's distribution to news agencies."The pressure was a little hard on us," he said. "I had three newspapers in London asking the same questions: Is it your picture? Can we use it? Is it real? I gave them the permission because Dan said it was his picture." The photo was taken in August, 2004, from the Louis S. St-Laurent, Canada's flagship icebreaker, and downloaded onto a shipboard shared computer. Mr. Crosbie, an ice service specialist and avid photographer, was present at the time, and had been taking pictures of his own. Some months later, he recovered the photo from his computer files and gave it to Environment Canada to illustrate an online magazine. He thought nothing more of it until Feb. 2, when Mr. Simard e-mailed him to say that some news agencies were concerned it had been faked in some way. His response was that it had not.
"It's just too cute to be true," Mr. Simard said. "You have to keep in mind that the bears are not in danger at all. It was, if you will, their playground for 15 minutes, you know what I mean? This is a perfect picture for climate change, in a way, because you have the impression they are in the middle of the ocean and they are going to die, with a Coke in their hands. But they were not that far from the coast, and it was possible for them to swim... They are still alive and having fun." But Al Gore says, "They must die!". He commands it!
Amanda Byrd, the editor of Mushing, a dogsledding magazine in Fairbanks, Alaska, was also on board the Louis S. St-Laurent in 2004, and says she took the photo. In an interview yesterday, she said Environment Canada "distributed it to seven agencies without my consent. They were amicable, but it's under legal action right now." She has not filed a lawsuit, but has hired a lawyer to pursue a breach of copyright case. She does not accept the government's explanation that it was "an honest mistake." Mr. Simard said the ministry agreed to distribute a correction, identifying Ms. Byrd as the photographer, which appeared in several major newspapers."We had to make it known we are sorry, that it was a mistake and we didn't want to steal your picture," Mr. Simard said.
Ms. Byrd said she learned of the mixup on Feb. 3, when her parents called to say her photo was in the Australian papers. She said they were "furious," because they had already received a copy of the photo as a gift. She had no idea that it had already been on the Environment Canada Web site for several months. It was still there last night.
She said she was flattered when Mr. Gore approached her and offered to pay for use of the photo."The image is an icon. It's definitely pulled the heartstrings of people and it says a lot, in itself. But I don't have really any opinion myself on what the image says," she said. "I don't know what happened to the bears after that... They migrate over 100 miles, swimming." It's bullshit, but it's bullshit for "good"...
She now charges newspapers US$500 for use of the photo on inside pages, and US$700 for the front. ...and it's lucrative bullshit.
The use of the photo might have gone unnoticed by the general public if Mr. Gore had had his way. As per his usual request, media were barred from attending his presentation yesterday, but the National Post attended anyway. Screw you , Al...
He was introduced by federal Liberal leader Stephane Dion, who praised Mr. Gore for "shaking the foundations of our complacency, smashing down the barricades of disbelief, and puncturing the smug confidence of denial. If the state of Florida counted votes with the same precision as the Academy, we would live in a very different world today," Mr. Dion said. Oh, you've got that right, Mr. Brown Nose...
Later, at a news conference, Mr. Dion declined to elaborate, even to say whether the world would be better. "You may guess my answer," he said. Now, leave my sight, peon...
"By harnessing the power of the market, we can beat climate change, and reap the economic rewards," Mr. Dion said in his introduction. Canada will become a "green energy superpower," and when it does, "we will have this man to thank, the Honourable Al Gore." Hope Al autographed his kneepads after the show. It's only fair...
Mr. Gore said it was "a balm to my heart" to hear Mr. Dion speak so forecefully about climate change, having spent Wednesday in Congress being grilled over his activism. He also declared himself "a big David Miller fan," and got laughs by addressing the Mayor by his honorific, "your Worship." Afterward, Mr. Gore and Mr. Miller chatted about ice cover on the Great Lakes, while Mr. Dion stood politely by. Love me...bow to me...worship me...
#3
"It's just too cute to be true," Mr. Simard said. "You have to keep in mind that the bears are not in danger at all. It was, if you will, their playground for 15 minutes, you know what I mean? This is a perfect picture for climate change, in a way, because you have the (MISTAKEN, ed.)impression they are in the middle of the ocean and they are going to die, with a Coke in their hands. But they were not that far from the coast, and it was possible for them to swim... They are still alive and having fun."
The 'fake but accurate' standard is raised once again by the left.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband provided a DNA sample Friday that he says he is "almost sure" will prove he is the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby.
HOWARD K. Stern has said he'll fight to keep Anna Nicole's daughter - even if DNA tests show she's not his. Mr Stern's lawyer today said he was complying with court-ordered DNA testing, but the result may not stop a drawn out legal fight. Mr Stern's lawyer James Neavitt told the Associated Press: "Howard is the legal father. If Mr Birkhead's DNA matches, then he can come and say he's the biological father, and then you'll have that court battle." 
Up to 80 people have been killed and over 360 injured after a series of explosions at an arms depot in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. The blasts took place on Thursday evening, causing widespread panic in the city. Radio Mozambique said the explosions sent mortars and rockets crashing into the residential district of Malhazine. Ambulances and private cars carried the injured to hospital, many with missing or damaged limbs. Homes were destroyed and roofs blown off when explosives fired from the armoury landed on nearby houses which went up in flames, causing people to flee in panic. 
Addressing senior army officers at a military school in the capital Harare today, Zimbabwe's Information Minister, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, said his country is relying on African countries for support and solidarity in a period when Zimbabwe has been subjected to strong international condemnations for continuously abusing the rights of its citizens. 
The head of Congo's army said in a nationally televised address Friday that security forces had regained control of the capital after two days of intense fighting against the militia of a former warlord who lost last year's presidential runoff. Lt. Gen. Sungilanga Kisempia said order had been restored in Kinshasa and that Jean-Pierre Bemba's army had fled, according to the broadcast on state-run RTNC television. He urged members of the militia to turn themselves in at the headquarters of the U.N. mission in Congo, saying that if they don't, "We will pursue them to the very end."
Most people do not feel the European Union represents ordinary people in their member states, according to a poll to mark the bloc's 50th anniversary celebrations this weekend. The survey - the first to canvass opinion across all 27 EU states - was commissioned by the Open Europe think-tank and spoke to 17,443 people. 
LAHORE: Dr 
